Saturday, January 30, 2010

Vintage Barkcloth Jacket to be "UpCycled"

I had a piece of vintage barkcloth I fell in like with. Now I'm ready to do something with it and have a plan.

This is the piece of barkcloth that was probably part of a curtain at one time. It has some worn places and some pulled threads but I feel it gives the fabric character and is part of it's story.

I found this pattern and thought it would be perfect as a foundation. I will add a skirt onto it and embellish it with lace and trims as I go. I had a plan to make this for myself. However, I haven't sewn with a pattern for a long time so I guessed at which size to make it. I am usually an 8 and that is the size pattern I would use even though the pattern measurements never correspond with what is real. So I decided to make this a size 10 and it should fit fine, I'd like it a little big. Unfortuanately, I have sewn the jacket part and it is a little small for me??? Sigh. I shoulda fit the pattern like my Home Ec teacher preached.

I gathered trims and fabrics I like to go with the barkcloth and today I will begin adding a skirt and applying the trims. If I don't like these trims believe me I have more to choose from. I'll post more pictures as I get close to finishing.

Altered Couture Magazine

I am primarily a fiber artist: a weaver, a dyer of cloth, creator of altered cloth books and art, and a designer of garments and accessories. I have a studio in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California where I immerse myself in projects and gaze out over the hills to the Monterey Bay. I write a little poetry from time to time and songs too. I have a great family, two sons, a husband, and joint custody of 2 cats, Moo and Ducky.